Gameros



F. GAMEROS Feb. 14, 1956 PYROGRAPH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 24, 1954 INVENTOR FZA/VC/SCO GAMEZOS BY 5 W wflmuhh ATTORNEYS F. GAMEROS Feb. 14, 1956 PYROGRAPH R 2 m m t 5 m e V E G W M 4 F a 2 F r v N a F w I m w I 1m H J M 2 Km 2 H W W & 1 F G 4 I H w W m w S 4 N, m V

WW w Um ATTORNEYS United States Patent PYROGRAPH Francisco Gameros, El Paso, Tex. Application September 24, 1954, Serial No. 458,050 Claims. (Cl. 21929) This invention relates to pyrographic units, and more particularly, has reference to a unit of the type stated which is electrically powered so as to burn artistic engravings into leather, wood, cloth, and other materials.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a generally improved device of the type referred to which will be so designed as to include, in a self contained box-like assembly readily adapted to be carried from place to place, transformer means; a conductor adapted to be plugged into any readily available convenient outlet; a hand tool; readily accessible means for varying as desired the temperature at the needle end of the tool; a quantity of removable needles or tip elements, readily interchangeable and all of them formed with dilferent, artistic designs; and storage means for the hand tool and for spare needles or tip elements.

It is proposed, by forming the pyrographic unit in the manner briefly described above, to facilitate its manufacture at a relatively low cost, to permit the manufacture of interchangeable needles at low prices, facilitate the swift interchange of needles so as to permit the engraving work to be carried on with maximum ease and with minimum loss of time, eifect a wide range of gradations of heat for increasing the versatility of the tool and its adaptability for engraving on different materials, and facilitate measurably the making of adjustments for depth of the design to be engraved on the material.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of the hand tool included in the device;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the receptacle portion and lid;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the hand tool with the tip element removed;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through one of the tip elements;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken vertically through the closed container;

Figure 6 is a plan sectional view through the container substantially on line 66 of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a pair of tips having tip elements of different designs.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally to a rectangular container or receptacle having a flat, rectangular bottom wall 12 secured to the bottom edges of vertical end walls 14, a vertical back wall 16, and a vertical front wall 18, the several walls being rectangularly shaped and being fixedly secured to one another at the several corners of the container in any suitable manner. A handle 19 is mounted upon the front wall to facilitate carrying of the device and hinged to the back wall is a dependingly and peripherally flanged lid 20 adapted to be secured in closed position by a releasable latch 21.

In the back wall 16 is formed an opening in which is mounted a grommet 22 of electrically insulative material, through which extends a conductor 24, said conductor being provided at its outer end with a suitable electric plug, not shown, adapted to be engaged in any ordinary convenience outlet.

Within the container, the conductor 24 has its respective leads connected to the opposite ends of a primary winding 26 of a transformer 28 secured fixedly in position against the bottom wall 12 by longitudinally spaced, transversely extending brackets 30 of inverted U-shape.

The secondary winding 32 of the transformer has one end portion 34 thereof extending to a scribing tool, to be described in detail hereinafter.

Above the secondary winding 32 an elongated electrically conductive plate 36 is secured to the underside of a horizontally disposed, rectangular partition 38, the periphery of which is afiixed in any suitable manner to the several vertical walls of the container. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the inner surfaces of said vertical walls may be grooved to receive the marginal portion of the partition. The partition divides the container into a permanently closed lower compartment 40 in which the transformer and temperature regulating means are mounted, and an upper compartment 42 exposed by raising of the lid, in which the hand tool and spare tip elements are stored when the device is not in use. At its opposite ends, the plate 36 is fixedly secured to the partition by the screws 44.

A lead 46 is connected to the plate 36 at one end, and is extended with the secondary winding end portion 34 through a grommet 48 of insulating material mounted in the partition 38. The lead 46 and portion 34 are extended, then, to a hand tool generally designated 50. Tool 58 includes an elongated handle 52 of wood or other electrically insulative material, shaped to be conveniently grasped in the hand. Handle 52 can be formed of a pair of contacting sections, which when separated expose the wires and other inner parts of the hand tool, the sections of the handle are connected by longitudinally spaced screws or similar fastening elements.

Within the handle there is formed a cavity 5'4. Leads 34, 46 extend to said cavity and are there connected to side-by-side, parallel tubes 56 of electrically conductive material extending longitudinally of and projecting beyond the front end of the handle 5'2. The projecting portions of the tube 56 are formed open, so as to define axial sockets within the tubes in which are frictionally engageable the correspondingly spaced, parallel ends of a pair of comparatively rigid spaced prongs 58 of a tip generally designated 60. The spaced prongs 58 are formed of copper or the like, and have forwardly convergent outer ends engaged frictionally in a cylindrical, sleeve-like block 62 of asbestos or other electrically insulative, fire resistant material.

The convergent ends of the prongs 58 project forwardly beyond the block 62, and are permanently secured in any suitable manner to the ends of a tip element 64 of chromium wire or the like. The element 64 is formed to any desired shape, the element design 64 shown in Figure 4 being merely another example of various shapes that can be employed.

A large number of tip elements may be included in the unit. As shown in Figure 2, the upper surface of the partition 38 has a number of engravings 65 therein as the result of using tip elements of differing design. It will be understood that the tip elements for respective engravings 65 will be included in a tip 60 which also comprises the asbestos block 62 and the set of base prongs 58 with the convergent ends of the prongs carrying the respective tip element. Figure 7 shows an illustration of a pair of tips 60 including tip elements 64 and 64. Each of the latter elements being of difiei'ent 3 design and differ also from the tip elements 64 and 64 Further, it will be understood that the tip elements may lie in angular planes relative to the plane of the prongs 53, as shown in Figure 7. As a result, when the handle 52 is held in a substantially upright position or a position in which it is inclined somewhat from the vertical, the tip elements 6 -i6 l may be horizontally disposed upon the work to be engraved. In this way, by pressing downwardly upon the work, with the entire ornamentally shaped midlength portion of the tip element in engagement with the work, the complete design is burned into the work Without movement of the handle as exemplified by the engravings 65'. This is distinguished from ordinary needles on pyrographic tools of this general type, which needles must be moved under the control of a user to form a design. In the instant invention, the possibility of improper formation of the design during engagement thereof is eliminated or at least substantially reduced, thus to facilitate the making of attractive, workmanlike designs by relatively unskilled persons.

The invention includes means for regulating perature at the tip of the device. This means has been shown to particular advantage in Figures and 6, and includes an elongated, straight shank 66 slidably mounted in a grommet 68 of insulative material provided in one side wall 14 of the container. That portion of shank 66 disposed exteriorly of the container is fitted with a knob 74 to facilitate the movement of the shank 66 in an axial direction by a user, either inwardly or outwardly of the container.

Shank 66, at its inner end, extends within the compartment 4i), and is provided with a hook-shaped, transformer-engaging spring contact 72, having a curved free end adapted to traverse the secondary winding 42 in engagement with the coils of the secondary winding, responsive to push-pull movement of the shank 66. T he other end of the contact 72 is secured by a rivet '74 to the shank 66, and said rivets also serve to secure to the shank and to the contact 47. a second spring contact 76, that engages the plate 36. Spring contact 76 is gradually curved in a longitudinal direction to impart a bowed configuration thereto, the opposite ends of the contact 76 being bent outwardly from the plate 36 to facilitate the sliding movement of the contact 76 along the plate.

It will be noted that the plate 36 and secondary winding 32 are arranged in vertically spaced, parallel relatien, with the shank 66 being extended in the space between the plate and secondary winding and being parallel thereto. Further, it will be noted that the spring contact means 72, 76 of the shank 66 is in contact with both the plate and with the secondary winding, and is so formed as to exert pressure both upwardly and downwardly, to hold the shank 66 centered between the plate 36 and secondary winding, while insuring at all times the proper electrical connection between the secondary winding and plate.

By movement of the shank 66 toward the right hand secondary winding, viewing the winding in Figure 5, the temperature of the tip element is increased, while movement of the shank to the left in Figure 5 decreases said temperature. When the shank is at its full left position in Figure 5, as shown in the drawing, the electricity to the handle is turned off completely.

It will be apparent that by reason of the heatregulating control means shown, the temperature of the tip element can be varied within a wide range, with the variations being quite small if desired. Thus, the user can regulate the depth to which the design will be engraved within exceedingly fine limits, and further; he is enabled to make suitable adjustments for temperature according to the particular type of material in which the design is to be engraved.

The device further has important characteristics, in

the temthat it is a self-contained assembly capable of manufacture at relatively low cost, the assembly being such that a large number of interchangeable tips can be carried about in a closed container, said container holding the transformer and the hand tool. Further, the particular shaping of the several interchangeable tips is such as to facilitate the engraving of a large number of attractively shaped, ornamental designs.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric pyrographic unit comprising a container including a partition dividing the same into a transformer compartment and a storage compartment; a lid for the container providing access to the storage compartment; a transformer within the transformer compartment; an engraving tool connected electrically to the transformer and adapted to be normally housed in the storage compartment; and means in the electrical connection between the transformer and tool extending into the transformer compartment for regulating the heat produced in said tool.

2. An electric pyrographic unit comprising a container including a partition dividing the same into a transformer compartment and a storage compartment; a lid for the container providing access to the storage compartment; a transformer within the transformer compartment; an en graving tool connected electrically to the transformer and adapted to be normally housed in the storage compartment; and means in the electrical connection between the transformer and tool extending into the transformer compartment for regulating the heat produced in said tool, including an electrically conductive plate secured to said partition in spaced relation to the secondary winding of the transformer, a shank reciprocably mounted in one wall of the container in the space between said plate and secondary winding, and contact means on the shank in engagement with the plate and secondary winding respectively, said secondary winding having an end portion extending to said tool, said plate having a lead extending with said end portion to the tool, the tool including a tip having spaced prongs connected electrically to said lead and end portion.

3. An electric pyrographic unit comprising a container including a partition dividing the same into a transformer compartment and a storage compartment; a lid for the container providing access to the storage compartment; a transformer within the transformer compartment; an engraving tool connected electrically to the transformer and adapted to be normally housed in the storage compartment; and means in the electrical connection between the transformer and tool extending into the transformer compartment for regulating the heat produced in said tool, said engraving tool including a handle, a pair of side-byside axially bored conductive members extending within said handle and projecting beyond one end of the handle to provide transversely spaced sockets on the handle, and a tip frictionally and removably engaged in said sockets.

4. An electric pyrographic unit comprising a container including a partition dividing the same into a transformer compartment and a storage compartment; a lid for the container providing access to the storage compartment; a transformer within the transformer compartment; an engraving tool connected electrically to the transformer and adapted to be normally housed in the storage compartment; and means in the electrical connection between the transformer and tool extending into the transformer compartment for regulating the heat produced in said tool,

said engraving tool including a handle, a pair of side-byside axially bored conductive members extending within said handle and projecting beyond one end of the handle to provide transversely spaced sockets on the handle, and a tip frictionally and removably engaged in said sockets, said tip including base prongs respectively engageable in said sockets, a block of electrically insulative, fire-resistant material in which said prongs are fixedly engaged, and an oranmentally shaped tip element having its end portions secured fixedly to the respective prongs.

5. An electric pyrographic unit comprising: a container including a partition dividing the same into a transformer compartment and a storage compartment; a lid for the container providing access to the storage compartment; a transformer Within the transformer compartment; an engraving tool connected electrically to the transformer and adapted to be normally housed in the storage compartment; and means in the electrical connection between the transformer and tool extending into the transformer compartment for regulating the heat produced in said tool, including an elongated electrically conductive plate extending longitudinally of the secondary Winding of the transformer in spaced relation to said secondary Winding, said plate being fixedly secured to the partition; an elongated, straight shank slidably mounted in one wall of the container and extending in the space between the plate and secondary Winding; means on the shank exteriorly of the container providing a handle for manually adjusting the shank in an axial direction; a spring contact secured to the other end of the shank and having a free end slidably contacting the secondary winding; and a second spring contact on said other end of the shank electrically connected to the first contact and having at least one end in slidable contact with said plate, said secondary winding having an end portion extending to said tool, said plate having a lead extending with said end portion to the tool, the tool including a tip having spaced prongs connected electrically to said lead and end portion respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 20 2,101,913 Meyer Dec. 14, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 242,278 Great Britain Mar. 25, 1926 272,606 Italy Mar. 14, 1930 

